Who are the top 10 athletes in San Diego history?

It is a subject that can be argued until St. Peter looks at the clock and orders last call. Who are the top 10 athletes in the history of San Diego? Tough one. We are filthy rich in this stuff.

I was involved in a radio discussion on a similar subject a few weeks back, and there are different ways to look at it. But, for the sake of this column, I’ll limit it to those who at least attended high school in this area, thus eliminating the likes of Tony Gwynn and Marshall Faulk.

And this must be an all-around athlete list, meaning the person had (has) to be proficient at more than one thing. Ted Williams, as a prime example, is our greatest sports star, but he will not make this list — unless we couple his prowess as one of the great fisherman with his magnificent ability to strike a baseball. I won’t, but you can, if you wish. Maureen Connolly, Bill Walton and Terri Mann, same thing.

There won’t be any order to this. They’re real good, so why bother ranking them? Here goes.

Charlie and Art Powell (an entry). The brothers starred in multiple sports during the 1950s at San Diego High. Charlie, who still holds the school’s shot put record, played pro football for the 49ers, minor league baseball and at one time was the fourth-ranked heavyweight boxer in the world (he fought and lost to Muhammad Ali). Art was a terrific wide receiver for the Raiders, making the All-Time AFL team. Younger brother Jerry, a versatile quarterback, was CIF Player of the Year at Lincoln High. Now there’s an athletic family.

Marcus Allen. It’s easy to remember him as the greatest football player this area has produced, but Allen did more than one thing at Lincoln. I saw him score 49 points in the Summer League basketball final at Peterson Gym. He also pitched on the Hornets’ baseball team and could high jump. Just a natural, brilliant athlete.

Junior Seau. Allen’s already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame; Seau’s heading there now that his outstanding NFL career, mostly with the Chargers, has ended. But we forget he also played basketball at Oceanside High. He was CIF Player of the Year in both sports. Pretty damn good athlete.

Harold “Brick” Muller. A brilliant, All-America player on Cal’s famous wonder teams of the early 1920s. When putting together college football’s first all-century team for Sports Illustrated, Dan Jenkins, the best sportswriter who ever lived, included split end Muller. Brick was the state high jump champion for San Diego High and took the silver medal in the event at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.

Gail Devers. Gail is my exception, because we’re talking track and field exclusively here. But she started running cross country as a freshman at Sweetwater High, then ran the 800 as a sophomore, winning the county title, before moving on to the sprints, long jump and hurdles, eventually winning two Olympic 100-meter sprint gold medals. If Ted Williams were like Babe Ruth and could pitch, too, he might have made the list.